Heartburn
by Leah A. Gemcity
Summary: "If she felt a little pang of jealousy over Tony discussing how many women had propositioned Ziva, Abby chalked it up to heartburn and continued thinking about other things."


This is just a super quick note. I'm glad my last story was received well (I saw someone on Tumblr even posted it as a fanfic rec! So cool!) So, to everyone that reviewed, MUCH LOVE. Those reviews motivated me to post this. It's not as funny as _Planning _but I hope you enjoy!

Abby had only heard snippets so far. Bits and pieces of firsthand accounts were all that Tony could give her since he had dissolved into hysterical laughter before he could finish. What had begun as a routine investigation had, through a series of odd events, led the NCIS team to send Ziva and McGee undercover into a bar filled with drag queens. Abby had spent a full fifteen minutes that morning pestering Gibbs to let her watch the operation from MTAC with him and Tony. His concession was a victory until one of the other teams in the building had rained on her parade. A rush request on numerous badly degraded DNA samples forced Abby to miss out on the viewing opportunity of a lifetime.

So far, she had heard that McGee had gotten his ass grabbed on numerous occasions and that something had happened to Ziva. That "something", however, was a mystery to Abby since Tony's attempts to speak through his laughter had failed and, in the end, Gibbs ended up having to escort the senior field agent back up to MTAC.

Abby hated being left out.

She had tried to escape the lab early on by running multiple tests at once but it seemed like every time she headed for the door one of her machines called out to her by beeping loudly. Abby never thought she'd see the day when one of her babies made her angry.

Late in the evening Abby ascended from the lab intent on delivering the results she had processed that day. She left them on the desk of the team's leader before casually heading over to see if Gibbs and the team had returned. Four empty desks greeted the forensic scientist and she was ready to head up to MTAC when the elevator dinged. She turned around in time to see a very flushed McGee rushing out followed by a smug looking Ziva. Abby's disappointment at missing the operation didn't stop her from greeting her beloved coworkers and friends enthusiastically.

"Hey guys! How'd it go?"

McGee's blush deepened. Ziva's smug expression morphed into a Cheshire Cat grin.

It took Tony less than a minute to bound into the room and begin the teasing.

"So, McQueen, I hear you were a hit with the "ladies" tonight," Tony emphasized the word ladies with finger quotes. "And Ziva, just how many girls asked you on dates. Sheesh!" he wolf whistled for effect.

"More than have ever asked you, I am sure," Ziva responded quickly. Abby mentally counted that response as a win for Ziva. Ziva David: 1,000,001. Tony DiNozzo: 0. Gibbs entered the room then, delivering a swift head slap to Tony without breaking stride, en route to the elevator.

"DiNozzo. Interrogation, now."

Tony sprinted to catch the closing doors.

Bored, Abby decided to remain in the squad room. She grabbed Gibbs' chair and wheeled it into the center between the desks. McGee and Ziva tapped away at their keyboards and Abby's mind began to wander. If she felt a little pang of jealousy over Tony discussing how many women had propositioned Ziva, Abby chalked it up to heartburn and continued thinking about other things.

"Are you gonna tell Tony you said yes?" McGee asked suddenly, his voice rising above the constant murmur of conversation and ringing phones that always filled the building. It snapped Abby back into reality.

"Absolutely not. Tony would have a prairie day with the information," Ziva said.

"I think you mean 'field day'. And wait, what are we talking about?" Abby was suddenly listening.

"Ziva's going out with one of the women from the bar," McGee answered.

"McGee! You are becoming worse than Tony! My business is not anyone else's," Ziva rebuked him.

"Ziva, it's Abby. She's not going to say anything."

"Yeah," Abby agreed halfheartedly. Her heartburn was suddenly acting up.

After the conversation dissolved into sibling-like bickering between McGee and Ziva, Abby wandered back down to the lab.

The forensic scientist closed up shop right at quitting time, locking the lab door behind her and heading swiftly to her car. She drove home without incident and flopped lifelessly onto her couch once she was inside. Her stomach felt gross, churning uncomfortably, but Abby's stubborn nature forced her to ignore it.

Whether or not Abby had a crush on Ziva was irrelevant. Ziva had chosen an offer from another woman and that was how life worked. Abby convinced herself that she needed to suck it up and drop this jealousy thing once and for all and be happy for her friend. With a long drawn out sigh, the unusually quiet Goth pulled herself up off of the couch, hell-bent on making her night better. She wanted Chinese food. And lots of it.

It was pure coincidence, except for the fact that it wasn't; couldn't be. Leroy Jethro Gibbs' 39th rule eliminated the possibility of a coincidence. Did that make it fate? Abby didn't know. All that she did know, however, was that maybe going to Wong's to pick up her dinner instead of calling for delivery was a stupid idea. Seated near the restaurant's wide front windows were Ziva and a rather attractive woman. Abby waited inconspicuously at the podium, the hood of her black sweater covering her head, watching the breathtaking agent secretly. She took a moment to ponder the stereotypes of lesbian couples. Often times, they were portrayed as being one very feminine woman paired with a more masculine woman. Abby couldn't help but notice that Ziva and this mystery woman absolutely destroyed that cliché. The stunning Mossad agent was seated with an equally as stunning brunette. Slender, tan, sparkling light eyes. They weren't the stereotypical lesbian couple. They were every man's wet dream fantasy.

When the hostess finally brought Abby her food in a plastic carryout bag, she paid and left quickly. She ended up giving the food to a homeless man she encountered on the way to her car. She wasn't very hungry anymore, anyway.

Abby hadn't been expectingit which is why she jumped a good foot in the air when the gentle knocking on her door began just after 11:30. The Goth rose from her spot on the couch and curiously looked through the peephole, nearly having a heart attack when the person on the other side was none other than Ziva David. This was too much like a bad romance novel, Abby thought, as she undid the lock and chain on her door to open it.

"Hi Ziva…" Abby's tone was quiet, skeptical. A part of her thought that this might not be real.

"I am sorry to disturb you, Abby. My car broke down a few blocks from here. I decided that I would rather walk to your house than take a ride from a strange tow truck driver. I have seen too many people killed in that situation," Ziva said.

"Safety first," Abby agreed, still not speaking in her usual exuberant manner. "Come in. Tea? Coffee? Food?" Abby asked, heading for her kitchen.

"No thank you. I've called Tony to come pick me up but he is…occupied at the moment. He can be here in about two hours. Is that too much of an imposition? If so, I am sure that McGee-"

"That's fine! Sit down, we can watch a movie or something. I'm sure there's still plenty of classic American movies that you've never seen!" Suddenly, despite everything, the old Abby was appearing again, energetic and filled with glee.

"I am sure as well," Ziva smiled.

Abby, with a glass of Caf!Pow, plopped down next to Ziva on the couch. She set her drink onto the table and then stood abruptly, heading over to the shelf that held all of her DVDs. While her back was facing Ziva, the agent began to speak.

"Abby? Did you know that part of my Mossad training involved exercises that trained me to see without looking?" Ziva asked casually.

"How?" Abby asked, still perusing the titles in front of her.

"I had to master the art of being aware of everything constantly. I had to be able to pick out a target even while engaging in a conversation with my back turned to him. I am constantly aware of my surroundings."

Abby began to feel uneasy. Something told her that Ziva was not bringing up that particular topic randomly.

"That's pretty cool," she said quietly while turning around to face Ziva, a copy of _The Godfather _clutched to her chest. Ziva was suddenly standing and she was much closer now, no more than a few feet away, eyeing Abby intently.

"I saw you tonight, Abby. I knew you were there at the restaurant," Ziva spoke matter-of-factly.

"Oh, yeah, I got some food from Wong's earlier, yeah," Abby said before realizing that her answer indicated that she had, in fact, been aware of Ziva's presence at the restaurant.

"Ah, so you _did _notice me," Ziva said with a grin, moving slowly closer to Abby. The scientist was cornered; she didn't know what to do. The DVD case slipped from her fingers unnoticed.

"You…you were on a date," Abby said.

"I was. She was…nice. But something about her was not enough," Ziva said, taking another creeping step forward. Abby felt like a rabbit in the lion's den. "She did not make me smile as much as you; she was not as smart as you; I did not trust her like I do you," Ziva said thoughtfully, taking a final step forward so that she and Abby were only small distance apart.

"Are you saying that…?"

"I am," Ziva said with a nod.

Abby was trying to think of an appropriate response, but Ziva beat her to it. The agent closed the space between them, sliding her hand behind the scientist's neck before their lips touched. Tentative, gentle kisses that progressed into deeper ones, until Abby was gasping for air. She backed up a smidgeon to look Ziva in the eyes.

"Ziva, I can't do one time things," she said quietly, looking at the floor once she had spoken the words, as if waiting to be left. Ziva lifted the Goth's chin up gently.

"Neither can I, Abby. I want something permanent."

Sometime later as Abby and Ziva cuddled together under a blanket on the couch watching _The Godfather, _the scientist had a thought.

"Your car didn't really break down, did it?" she asked, and Ziva chuckled lightly.

"It did not, no."

"You didn't really call Tony either?"

"I did not, no."

"So you planned this entire thing, just to tell me how you felt?" Abby asked excitedly. Romantic gestures always made her happy.

"I did. When I became aware of you at the restaurant, I decided that now was the time," Ziva said, pulling Abby closer to her so that the Goth was seated in her lap, arms wrapped around Ziva's neck.

"This is the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me," Abby said, and emphasized her words with a gentle kiss.

Later that night, in bed with Ziva pressed tightly up against her bare back, Abby decided that she finally did know; it had to have been fate. If Gibbs was a little confused the next day when his bouncy forensic scientist kissed him enthusiastically and thanked him for Rule 39, he didn't let it show on his face.


End file.
